Samsung's gambles pay off in Game 2; Choi Won-tae gets the ball for Game 3

Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man's personnel decisions are paying off. By shifting ace Won Tae-in to the closer role and inserting 42-year-old veteran Choi Hyung-woo into left field, Park evened the best-of-five playoff series at one game apiece. Now he is making another bold call — handing the Game 3 start to Choi Won-tae, who struggled against the Kia Tigers during the regular season.

Samsung will send Choi Won-tae to the mound when the series resumes Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju. Kia will counter with Japanese pitcher Shirakawa Keisho.

Samsung dropped Game 1 on Monday 1-5 before bouncing back Tuesday with an 8-3 victory to level the series. Park's aggressive lineup tinkering was central to the turnaround. With the offense managing just two hits in Game 1, he overhauled his starting lineup for Game 2, keeping Koo Ja-wook at designated hitter while slotting Choi Hyung-woo — left out of the Game 1 lineup — into the No. 5 spot and left field.

The move reflected a deliberate trade-off: maximize offensive firepower even at some defensive cost. Park also factored in that starter Ariel Jurado excels at inducing ground balls. When observers raised concerns about Choi Hyung-woo's outfield defense in strong winds, Park pushed back, saying his fielding ability should not be underestimated.

The results vindicated Park's faith. Choi Hyung-woo went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk. His solo shot to right field in the seventh inning threw cold water on Kia's rally. He also threw out a batter-runner at second base with a precise relay.

At 42 years and 10 months old, Choi set new postseason records for oldest appearance, hit, home run and RBI. After the game, Park said of Choi, "Even catching a pop fly lifts the mood in the dugout," and confirmed he would start him in left field again in Game 3.

The batting-order adjustments also clicked. Park moved Park Seung-gyu into the No. 2 spot in place of Kim Seong-yun, targeting a slot where the offense had stalled in Game 1. Park Seung-gyu delivered, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a tying two-run double in the third inning. "Park Seung-gyu's tying hit in the third was decisive — it felt like a blocked artery had been cleared," the manager said.

On the mound, Won Tae-in was the hidden card. With closer Kim Jae-yun sidelined by a shoulder injury heading into the playoffs, Samsung kept Won in the bullpen. Although Won had been the likely Game 3 starter, the club chose to deploy him first as a game-sealer. Having not appeared in Game 1, Won took the mound in the ninth inning of Game 2 with Samsung leading 8-3, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts to nail down the win.

With Won Tae-in committed to the bullpen, the Game 3 starting assignment fell to Choi Won-tae. Samsung had planned to give him the start if Won did not pitch in Games 1 or 2.

Choi's regular-season numbers against Kia, however, give cause for concern. In three starts against them this year, he went 1-1 with an ERA of 8.10. Park Jae-hyeon tagged him for five hits in eight at-bats, while Kim Do-young and Harold Castro each hit home runs off him.

His postseason track record from last year tells a different story. He threw six scoreless innings against the SSG Landers in Wild Card Game 1 and allowed just one run over seven innings against the Hanwha Eagles in Playoff Game 2, picking up wins in both outings.

Kia's starter Shirakawa went 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA in three regular-season starts against Samsung, holding them to a .196 batting average. In this postseason, he earned the win in Wild Card Game 3 against the LG Twins, striking out nine over five innings while allowing one run. One potential vulnerability: he issued 11 walks in 14⅔ innings against Samsung during the regular season.

Won Tae-in's role going forward is also drawing attention. Park said he is keeping open the option of using Won out of the bullpen in Game 3 as well, and that a decision on whether to start him in Game 4 will be made after Game 3.